Ashley's story: “You're not in food prison”
Ashley is 44, a marketing director with three kids and a desk she sits at all day. She ran. She spun. She ate “healthy.” And her body stopped responding. Turns out she was under-eating. She started eating more, training for strength and sleeping well again. Then she saw her after photo.
Here's what changed.
In her words.
Ashley at a glance
- Who: 44, marketing director, mom of three (10, 12 and almost 15)
- Where she started: running, spinning, eating “healthy”, waking at 3 am, and nothing changing
- The real problem: she was starving all day, then snacking after dinner
- What changed: more food and protein, strength workouts at home, workouts in her calendar like meetings
- 8 weeks later: better sleep, steady energy, and abs she never thought her body could have
Doing everything, and nothing was changing
Ashley has been active since before her first baby. A quick 5K, 30 minutes out of the house, max.
Then her 40s hit, and what worked stopped working.
So she added more. Some weights. Spin. A Peloton. Each thing worked for a while, then didn't.
“I felt like I was putting in too much time to not get the results that I wanted to get.”
Her sleep changed too. Wide awake at 3 or 4 am, counting the hours until the alarm.
And her clothes? They still fit. They just didn't fit the same.
When she was told it was just age, and to expect it, she didn't buy it. Good. Neither do we.
Why she started in the middle of chaos
Ashley found us through someone she knew in the program. She'd seen her in the neighbourhood, looking fantastic, and asked her about it.
Then she talked to Chris.
“You sort of feel heard and seen for a second.”
Her timing was terrible on paper. Work was busy. Travel. Dance competitions. Hockey. All the things.
She started anyway.
“I don’t think there was any better time than in chaos to start.”
Here's the thing. If you can fit it in when life is at its busiest, you can fit it in any time.
She was starving all day
On paper, Ashley's food looked great. Cottage cheese and fruit for breakfast. A big salad with some protein for lunch. A good dinner.
Then after dinner, things went off the rails.
“I think, candidly, I was starving all day.”
By dinner, her body was screaming for more. That's where the snacking came from. That's a fuel problem, and it's fixable.
Now she eats more, especially protein, and the evening hunger is gone.
“I was filling my body. I wasn’t fuelling my body.”
Water too. She wasn't much of a water drinker. Now she is, and she can feel the difference.
“You're not in food prison”
Ashley works in food. Product tastings are part of her week.
In her first two weeks, she had a tasting coming up and was trying to figure out how to handle it. Her coach Shari told her:
“You’re not in a food prison.”
Do what you need to do, and keep moving.
That line stuck. Make the right choices more often, so the little ones are just blips. One tasting doesn't mean you go wild raccoon for the rest of the day, as Ashley puts it.
Honestly, I'm stealing it. Food prison. You're not in it.
Same meals, different plate
Ashley feeds a family of five, and everyone wants something different. Pasta is a house favourite. It's her weakness too.
She thought pasta was over. It wasn't.
Now there's a piece of fish or chicken on her plate, and the pasta is the side.
“I can still make the same meals. I need more of this on my plate.”
Most of what she was doing was already fine. It was small tweaks, stacked up.
Mornings, early nights and lunch walks
She's a morning workout person again. She wakes up before her alarm now. On her days off, she misses it.
She's in bed by 9:30. Book, journal, face routine. The old Ashley would've been looking for someone to meet for a drink.
She's pickier about alcohol. She wants the good sleep and the fresh morning more than the drink.
She takes walks at lunch. Not to close a ring. Because she wants the fresh air.
The workout meeting she never misses
Ashley picks her workout days and puts them in her calendar, mostly mornings. Then she works backwards and fits the rest of the day around it.
“I don’t miss meetings that are in my calendar for others. So why am I missing the meeting in my calendar for me?”
Ashley's results
When Ashley took her after photo, she wasn't sure anything had changed. She was almost uncomfortable taking it.
Then she saw them side by side.
“I have never had abs. That’s just not in my body type.”
She has them now. And she knows why: the food, the consistency, the strength training. All of it together.
Results vary by individual, based on your starting point and commitment to the program.
She meant to do just the first 8 weeks. Then she realized 8 weeks wasn't enough to lock in the habits, so she kept going with us in Metabolic Mastery. When her coach asked for a goal weight, she didn't have one.
“I just want to feel really good.”
Watch Ashley's interview
Ashley sat down with me after her first 8 weeks. Twenty-five minutes, and a few new lines I'll be using forever.
Ashley today
“I just feel really good. I feel good in my skin.”
Her advice if you're on the fence
Jump. “Do it. Jump. Do it. And you don't look back.”
Think small. “It really is these small shifts that add up to really big change.”
Know your why. Hers: carrying every grocery bag from the trunk to the house in one trip. Strong enough to do the things she needs to do, without pain.
Was it worth the investment? “Yes.” No hesitation.
Ready to start yours?
- Watch the short video on our homepage. It walks through why your body stopped responding after 40 and the method Ashley followed.
- Apply for a call with Chris. The application takes a few minutes, and Chris reads every one himself.
Frequently asked questions
Why wasn't Ashley losing fat when she worked out and ate healthy?
She wasn't eating nearly enough during the day, especially protein. By dinner her body was starving, so the after-dinner snacking crept in. Once she ate more through the day, the evening hunger faded.
Did Ashley have to give up pasta?
No. Her family still has pasta. Ashley adds a piece of fish or chicken and makes the pasta the side, not the main event. Same meals, plated differently.
How did Ashley fit it in with three kids and a full-time job?
She puts her workouts in her calendar like meetings, mostly first thing in the morning. The program takes about 4 hours a week, with follow-along workouts at home.
What if my job puts food in front of me all day?
Ashley works in the food industry, with product tastings in her week. Her coach's advice: you're not in food prison. Make the right choice more often, let the occasional tasting be a blip, and keep going.
Did Ashley have to stop drinking?
No. Our plan takes a short break from alcohol in the first two weeks, then opens it back up. Ashley found she's now more particular. She'd rather have the good sleep, so a drink is something she saves for when she really wants it.